Registered Nurse vs. Nurse Practitioner: What's the Difference?

In Australia, nurses are regulated health professionals who go through recognised training pathways to become registered to practice with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA).

Qualifications: 

The main difference between a Registered Nurse and a Nurse Practitioner is the qualification. 

A Registered Nurse is someone who has graduated from a nursing program and met the criteria for registration according to the country they work in. In Australia, a Bachelor of Nursing is the minimum education requirement.

A Nurse Practitioner (NP) is a registered nurse who will have  completed additional university study at Master's degree level and are the most senior clinical nurses in our health care system.

 They have the experience and expertise to diagnose and treat people of all ages with a variety of acute or chronic health conditions.

Registered Nurses (RNs)

Registered nurses (RNs) complete a 3-year Bachelor of Nursing through a university to meet the RN standards for practice. 

A registered nurse's primary role is to assess patients, identify their critical needs, and implement a medical plan. RNs duties include but are not limited to the following :

• Assessing and observing patients
• Recording patient medical history and symptoms in detail
• Administering and monitoring prescribed medications, IV, and other treatments for side effects and reactions
• Creating, implementing, and evaluating patient care plans with the medical team
• Caring for wounds, such as cleaning and bandage changing
• Educating patients and family members on treatment and care plans for injuries, conditions, and illnesses
• Supervising ENs and junior RNs and in some cases students.
• Undertaking regular professional development

Nurse Practitioners (NPs)

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are RNs who have been endorsed as an NP by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia(NMBA). NPs practice independently in an advanced and extended clinical role, and can prescribe some medicines.

To be eligible for an NP endorsement, a nurse must:

• be a registered nurse with no restrictions on practice
• have 5,000 hours of experience at the advanced clinical nursing practice level within the past 6 years 
• have completed an approved program of study at a master degree level
• comply with the NMBA's nurse practitioner standards for practice.

Most NPs are employed by state and territory governments in acute care settings. NPs are also employed in private settings, either as an employee or in their own practice.

NPs duties include but are not limited to the following :

• Recording patient medical histories and symptoms and ensuring accurate medical records to provide diagnoses
• Collecting information and samples from patients
• Diagnosis and treatment of a variety of health related conditions
• Evaluating medical and test results and observing patients
• Creating individual treatment plans and initiating and receiving appropriate referrals from health professionals
• Prescribing appropriate and necessary medications
• Ordering and interpreting the most appropriate tests to assist in diagnosis and management
• Supervising nurses and other staff members
• Collaborating with other healthcare professionals to share knowledge, create treatment plans, and diagnose patients

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